Pop and Rock

Stereos (Universal)

When Edmonton pop-rock band Stereos played the West End Cultural Centre earlier this year they had a crew member along specifically to control the auto tuner. That annoying voice manipulation device, which Jay-Z called for the death of on his new album, is all over their debut, a highly glossed collection that will no doubt please their teenage female fan base that discovered them on the MuchMusic series DisBand.

They look like a hardcore band, but songs like Butterflies and Throw Your Hands Up sound like Sean Kingston fronting New Kids on the Block. On the positive side, there's no denying the hooks aplenty on shimmery, summery tracks like Addicted, Summer Girl and Turn it Up.

The deluxe edition of the album includes a code for a free new track monthly for the next year and the opportunity to shake hands with the quintet at meet and greets on tour. Their music isn't anything original, but in an era of declining CD sales the idea is. Bonus star for the extras. 'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- RW

Chantal Kreviazuk

Plain Jane (MapleMusic)

Chantal Kreviazuk supposedly titled her album Plain Jane to reflect her life of relative anonymity in Los Angeles where she lives with her family writing songs for the likes of Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson. She's no Plain Jane in Canada, though, where she's a music star who doubles as a shampoo spokeswoman.

On her first album since 2006's Ghost Stories, the former Winnipegger doesn't change her musical modus operandi. Plain Jane features 11 tracks of piano-based pop which range from bouncy introspective numbers (Invincible) to uplifting tracks (The Way) to ballads like Halfway Around the World and 5000 Days. She even enlists her nanny, a Rwandan war refugee named Bibiane Mpoyo, as a co-writer on the jubilant, childlike Na Miso.

Lyrically, Kreviazuk shows off her vulnerability, social consciousness and even bravely admits to her shortcomings. Plain, she says she is, but her feelings are more complex. 'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- RW

Flight of the Conchords

I Told You I Was Freaky (Sub Pop)

The second season of HBO's Flight of the Conchords didn't match the quality of the first season, and neither does their sophomore disc featuring the musical highlights from each show.

New Zealand musical comedy duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie are masters at aping every imaginable style of music, but this time most of the songs don't work without the accompanying visuals. If you didn't see the episode about epileptic dogs (who it turns out don't like strobe lights) there might not be much for you in the R. Kelly/Usher spoof We're Both in Love With a Sexy Lady. Elsewhere Hurt Feelings, the disc's highlight, exposes the sensitive side of rappers; Fashion is Danger is an '80s new wave club hit in waiting, You Don't Have to Be a Prostitute is the male version of the Police's Roxanne. Bret and Jemaine can be freaky and funny alright, but the laughs are fewer this time around. If this was a video collection it would be a whole other story. 'Ö'Ö1/2

-- RW

Steel Panther

Feel the Steel (Universal)

The fact Steel Panther members put their own warning on the back of their debut disc warning people that the parodies on the album will offend, well, just about everyone tells you something about what to expect.

Steel Panther is a comedy metal band that takes the hedonistic '80s hair metal clichés to the extreme. Most of the lyrics are unprintable in a family newspaper, but a few of the song titles include Asian Hooker, Community Property, Eatin' Ain't Cheatin' and Stripper Girl.

It wouldn't work if the musicianship wasn't up to par, but these guys can play (they started as a Van Halen tribute band) and even get the likes of Scott Ian (Anthrax), Corey Taylor (Slipknot) and Justin Hawkins (the Darkness) to help out. If you're only going to check out one metal comedy album this year and admire people who can rhyme Korea with gonorrhea, then you need to feel this steel. 'Ö'Ö'Ö'Ö

-- RW

Colin James

Rooftops and Satellites (MapleMusic)

It may seem hard to believe but pop smart Canuck bluesman Colin James is over the hump and heading towards 50 years old. The seemingly ageless musician hasn't yet learned to slow down.

Most of the self-penned tracks here were co-written with Blackie and the Rodeo Kings' Tom Wilson and the partnership works. Songs like the uplifting Better Than I Can Imagine and the hummable, hooky Wavelength reveal that James is much more than sturdy bluesman or big band leader. Photograph could wend its way onto any current country music chart and James' perceptive choice of tracks to cover (including Toots and the Maytals, Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan) shows the kind of wisdom you'd expect from a veteran. Definitely worth a listen. 'Ö'Ö'Ö1/2

-- Jeff Monk

JAZZ

Terence Blanchard Group

Choices (Concord Jazz)

There is some fine music on trumpeter Terence Blanchard's Concord debut, but it also includes spoken word interludes by academic and activist Dr. Cornel West.

As profound as his words and ideas are, they become cumbersome with repeated listening, so after awhile you may want to use the skip button and concentrate on the melding of post-bop and atmospheric music over 15 tracks.

Blanchard adds neo-soul singer Bilal to the mix with his regular musicians, including guitarist Lionel Loueke, in what might come off better as a live performance package but which nonetheless is a good choice for a CD. Blanchard is, after all, one of the great trumpeters of his generation. 'Ö'Ö'Ö1/2

-- Chris Smith

CLASSICAL

Zane Zalis

I Believe (Independent)

This unique Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra recording of Winnipeg composer/lyricist Zane Zalis' Holocaust oratorio resonates with conviction and the need to communicate unimaginable horrors -- and ultimately hope -- in a contemporary idiom. The disc includes all texts and notes about the production that was five years in the making, with the first-rate ensemble led by WSO's Alexander Mickelthwate.

Live performances don't always translate well to a recording, but this one successfully allows Zalis's compelling theatricality to emerge

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 24, 2009 C4